SECTION 1. Section 1 of Chapter 50 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting in alphabetical position:-

“Capacity to make voting decisions independently” shall mean having the ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of voting decisions, including the benefits and risks of and alternatives to any candidate for office, referendum question, or matter of public affairs, and to reach an informed decision, without significant input from a caregiver

SECTION 2. The first sentence of Section 1 of Chapter 51 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by replacing “years” with “days” and by removing “a person under guardianship or”

SECTION 3. Section 1 of chapter 51 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence the following:-

Section 2. A voter who lacks capacity to make voting decisions independently who arrives willingly at a polling site with a family member may receive from this family member any guidance, support, or executive assistance necessary to cast their ballot, except that no such ballot may be counted if the voter informs the presiding officer that the ballot should not count.

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In various ways, including via this slide deck, Robin Chen developed League members’ acceptance of under-16-year-old members as voting-eligible, to bring about organizational transformation in Massachusetts and throughout the 700+ affiliates. The League of Women Voters is a federated grassroots voluntary association that was founded in 1920 by leading woman’s suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt.

Robin Chen authored an article, “Let’s Write Universal Suffrage Songs with Children,” which was featured in the Spring 2022 e-journal ‘Pass it On!’ of The Children’s Music Network.

Petitioning the 192nd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to act to remove the voting age requirement